White Moon
by Relatively Unknown
Summary: Anna can't sleep one night and ends up have an interesting talk with someone you wouldn't expect. (Or maybe you would, if you understand the title.)


**A/N**: Yeah, I know, it's been forever since my first venture into this particular realm of  
fanfiction. It wasn't that I stopped liking _Shaman King_, it's just that I more or less  
rediscovered what I liked about it so much. And this is the result. Enjoy.  
  
-----  
  
_Ah.... The white moon is enclosed by darkness  
Time stops, the sleep is restless  
The long night is mourning  
Light is coming  
Shining innocently  
Just like your dreams_  
  
Anna had awaken some time before, and now she could clearly hear a voice singing  
softly. Unable to sleep anyhow, she shrugged on a robe and went to find out who it was.  
  
This particular hotel of theirs had a balcony, which she herself had occupied earlier that  
night to watch the sunset. As she padded down the hallway to it, she caught a glimpse of  
someone standing where she had hours beforehand. As she crept closer, unwilling to  
disturb the singer, she finally was able to see who it was... Faust.  
  
He was standing there, bathed in the moon's light, singing to himself. She couldn't  
understand the words; it must be in German, Faust's native language. She had heard him  
slip into it rather often, especially when angry or upset. The language itself was at times  
harsh sounding, but listening to his singing, it was rather beautiful. She was entranced  
(though she probably wouldn't admit it), and stood there in the doorway, unable or  
unwilling to move. After some time-- she wasn't sure how long-- he stopped, and gave a  
loud sigh.  
  
"_Ich weiß, daß Sie dort, sind_. I know you are there. Come out, _bitte_," he said, without  
turning around. Anna wasn't surprised. Despite appearances, Faust was very observant,  
which kind of fit the doctor profile. She walked out and stood beside him. "_Fräulein_  
Anna."  
  
"_Herr_ Faust," she replied, pleased that she had learned at least one non-swear word from  
the man. She glanced sideways to see he had a small smile on his face. He seemed to be  
in no hurry to make small talk, so she spoke again. "That was a very beautiful song. What  
was it?"  
  
"Ah... It is called _Weißer Mond_, or, as you would say, White Moon," he replied. "I wrote  
it as a song for Eliza."  
  
Ah, the dead wife. Anna couldn't help but admire how devoted Faust was to her, even if  
it was borderline obsession. No, scratch that, it was obsession. His loyalty to her, even in  
death, was both endearing and frightening. His appearance didn't help matters any-- the  
dark circles under his eyes, the bluish-purple mouth, the pale skin, and haunted blue eyes.  
He was the original gothic, before black became a color-must.  
  
"I'm sure she loves it," she said, not realizing she had used the present tense instead of  
past. She didn't know whether or not to correct herself-- sometimes, with the way he  
acted, it was hard to tell.  
  
"I'm sure she would," he said softly. "_Danke_."  
  
"Your welcome," she replied, recognizing the thank you, different language or not.  
  
A moment of silence passed between the two, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. Faust  
kept his sight on the moon, as if in awe of it. She gazed up at it as well, losing herself to  
thought. So much so, in fact, that she had to ask him to repeat himself.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I asked if you could not sleep. Obviously, you can't, or did my singing awake you? If it  
did, I apologize." That was another thing about him-- he could be deadly in battle, but  
sweet and kind any time else. It was an unnerving paradox.  
  
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I just couldn't sleep. And you?"  
  
"Rarely do I rest, despite the morphine."  
  
"Morphine?" Anna had seen him inject himself several times with something; it must be  
morphine.  
  
"_Ja_. I use it to numb myself... but it makes you tired. Sometimes I take things to help with  
that, too," he said. He made a gesture to his face, and for the first time looked at her.  
"This... is the result."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"_Warum_? There are many reasons," he said, his eyes drifting back to the moon.  
  
"How long has it been... since..." Anna stopped herself. How could she ask him that? He  
stayed facing the moon, but gave her a sideways glance.  
  
"Since Eliza... died?" he asked. She nodded. He lowered his head, a bitter expression on  
his face. "_Zehn Jahre_... ten years," he said. "She would have been thirty-six with my  
thirty-three, just beginning our greatest years together...."  
  
"Twenty-six, then?" Anna said, doing some quick calculations. "So young, the both of  
you. I know what it's like to be alone, yet I can't imagine.... If I lost Yoh--" she cut  
herself off. She couldn't think like that.  
  
"Ah, _fräulein_ Anna, you are much too young yourself to worry so much, even if it is for  
_herr_ Yoh," he said, the small smile returning.  
  
"I can't help it," she admitted. Somehow, despite being very private and in the presence  
of a known madman, she felt she could confess everything to him. Faust was odd like  
that.  
  
"You know, _mein liebes_ Eliza never worried, even about death. She was on the brink of it  
for so very long. She told me once that she realized, she could never fear or worry about  
death, for if she did, it would only bring her more pain. Instead, she said that she would  
live each day as if was her last, so when death did come, she had no regrets. Sometimes...  
I wonder if she knew. She always seemed to know things like that," he said. It appeared  
that what she had just thought about him was a two-way street. Despite his obsession for  
his lost wife, he rarely spoke anything about her, except of her death and his desire to  
resurrect her.  
  
"Do... do you think that maybe... she had the right idea?"  
  
"Yes," he said simply. "Still..."  
  
"Faust?"  
  
"_Ja_, Anna?"  
  
"I've often heard of people taking their own lives to be with the ones they loved. Why  
didn't you do that?" Realizing it was a rather bold question, even for her, she quickly  
added, "Never mind. You don't have to answer that."  
  
"No, it is okay. I have no true secrets. I will not lie-- I did think about it. Many times. But  
I knew I could not; I needed to remain here and bring her back to us."  
  
" 'Us?'"  
  
"_Mein Sohn_... ah... my son and I," he said. Anna looked at him in surprise. This was the  
first time she had ever heard of any mention of a son. Faust caught her look, and,  
surprising her even more, laughed lightly. "Ah, does that surprise you, _fräulein_ Anna?"  
  
"You never mentioned him before."  
  
"You never asked," he replied. Anna quirked an eyebrow at the necromancer.  
  
"Let me guess, Faust IX?"  
  
"Empath, indeed," he said, and she couldn't help but give a slight glare at the teasing. He  
just looked back to the moon.  
  
"How old is he?"  
  
"I thought you were already taken." This time there was nothing slight about the glare. He  
laughed again. "Forgive me, I meant no harm. He is... ah... about your age, I'd say.  
Fourteen?" Anna nodded.  
  
"So where is he?"  
  
"With my brother's family, back in _Deutschland_," he said. "And yes, I do miss him so.  
He was but four years old when Eliza died, and lucky enough to be away from the clinic  
at a friend's house for the night."  
  
"At least you didn't lose both of them," Anna told the gothic man.  
  
"Yes.... For some things, I am ever so thankful." Another moment of silence. "And what  
about you?"  
  
"Am I thankful? For Yoh, I am. For the others, yes-- including you. I don't think Yoh  
could have made it this far without all of you, and I know I wouldn't have made it  
anywhere near here without him. For all that... I am thankful."  
  
"You discredit yourself too much, _fräulein_ Anna. You have helped Yoh much more than  
any of us... especially I." A dark look crossed his face.  
  
"Manta has forgiven you for that, you know," she told him. He nodded gently.  
  
"I know... I know."  
  
He focused once again on the moon. It's soft glow was comforting to Anna; just by  
looking at it, many of her fears and worries lessened. She could understand why Faust  
loved it. As the minutes passed, she thought back to that song he had been singing.  
  
"That song... _White Moon_... could you sing it for me?"  
  
"In your language?"  
  
"_Bitte_?" she asked, glad she could bring that small smile back to his face. He nodded, and  
began to sing.  
  
"Ah.... The white moon is enclosed by darkness  
Time stops, the sleep is restless  
The long night is mourning  
Light is coming  
Shining innocently  
Just like your dreams..."  
  
She didn't need to be an empath to feel the emotion behind the words. It was there, in his  
voice. Sometimes she could hear places where his voice almost broke, but he would  
continue anyway. It was such a sad, yet beautiful song. It was her lullaby, as she soon fell  
asleep.  
  
The next morning, she awoke in her bed. Faust must've carried her there after she drifted  
off. The sun came in through the slats of the window blinds, making stripes across her  
bed. She smiled; her worries were still allayed. Eliza had been right. You can't worry  
about things, even death. You live each day like it was your last. Maybe that was what  
Yoh had been trying to tell her for so long.  
  
As she dressed, the last few lines of Faust's song came to her, and she sang them softly to  
herself.  
  
"This sun will not rise  
But always remains in my heart  
So the sky is always radiant nonetheless  
Who is there for the sake of my beloved?  
You are the white moon..."  
  
**A/N**: So, how was it? Yes, I adore Faust. And yeah, I probably had him out of character,  
but... oh, well, ne? I know I made the jump with son idea. I'm not even sure where it  
came from, honestly, it just seemed to fit this somehow. ::shrug:: No harm, no foul.  
  
The song, btw, is Faust's theme or character song, and yes, it is called _White Moon_. It's in  
Japanese, though, not German. I just thought, since he is German, he'd write in it.  
  
Translation for the German:  
  
_Ich weiß, daß Sie dort, sind_ -- "I know you are there."  
_Bitte_ -- Please  
_Fräulein_ -- Miss or young lady  
_Herr_ -- Mister, sir, etc.  
_Weißer Mond_ -- White Moon  
_Danke_ -- Thank you  
_Ja_ -- Yes  
_Warum_ -- Why  
_Zehn Jahre_ -- Ten years  
_Mein liebes_ -- My dear, my love, etc.  
_Mein Sohn_ -- My son  
_Deutschland_ -- Germany  
  
Sorry, if you think I used too much. I'm big on using different languages in my writings,  
anime especially.  
  
Well, you know what to do-- review! And yes, flames are fine, I have no problem with  
them as long as they aren't redundant or excessive. 


End file.
